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11 June 2013

... every day that it rains too hard to go outside, instead of going weeding the garden, I will scan some of the many photographs in my collection into the computer. A different kind of weeding shall we say?

Trying to organize (again) my digital genealogy data, I've decided on Family file folders nested into Surname file folders. I also have Census, US and Census, NS folders for records that are not already filed away in the family files. And, lastly - if I can't remember what file to use - I have the catchall Miscellaneous folder, the General History folder, a General Map folder and a General Data folder. It might work - if I keep up with it with a weekly "sort and file-it-properly" day, that is.

In the midst of scanning photographs, I did learn a few new things. This particular batch of photographs came from my mother's desk. I always knew my mother had a quirky sense of humor and a decidedly artistic view of the world, but many of the photographs that she took of her children and grandchildren were pretty artsy. She seemed to have preferred a low-light from the side and a straight on shot - or a profile not quite silhouette, but pretty close. She definitely thought her grandchildren were interesting, as she often chronicled them doing things like this - an activity she totally instigated - she loved to get the grandkids outdoors and looking at neat things:

Ian, Ives and Sarah out and about checking out some really cool

stuff while their mothers are at work, ca. 1988?

The next find was a small bible - pocket sized and in a box. It is a bible given to my grandmother and grandfather on the date of their wedding. Clifford Ives Stoddard and Mildred Russell Dikeman were married on Saturday the 13th of October in 1906 in the New Haven Diocese of the Protestant Episcopal Church. James D.W. Perry Jr, the Rector of St. Paul's Church performed the ceremony.

Primary source ;-)

My mother didn't talk much about her years at Rollins College in Winter Park Florida. From what she did say, she really enjoyed the time spent there. She was a small town girl from Connecticut who ventured out of her element into Winter Park, FL and obviously flourished. The graduation ceremonies - apparently lasted a week from the few remnants I found - were held in 1940 and my mother received a few honors and participated in the ceremonies as well.

The headline below shows Joe Justice being awarded major honors...the reality is my mom shared being selected as an outstanding atheletes of the year.

Mom also made outstanding achievement in the study of art. Growing up, we could not look past our noses without seeing something Mom had created or designed. Although she did work for a while for an advertising company, after she married Pop, she gave up her work to become a mother, and created what she could while moving around the country and raising kids. She wasn't much of a writer, sadly; I would love to read what she thought of things. She did leave lots of little touches that so exemplify who she was and what was important to her.

The last photo is a mystery. There I am peeking over the back of a donkey. I know who owns the Mustang convertible, but for the life of me, I don't know where we are or what we are doing in the midst of these donkeys. Or are they mules? And how the heck could I forget an experience this out of the ordinary for me? I remember most of my travels - I even kept diaries during the momentous journeys, but this one has me stymied.

My guess is that it is in New England somewhere - that would tie in with the Mustang and its owner. Aviator type sunglasses dates it around early 70's. Maybe a spaceship scooped me up and gave me a drug to make me forget this?

I have no memory of this at all, but I do have the evidence. I expect, as the years roll on, there will be many more instances of forgotten photos. That is why I am in such a hurry to scan my photos!